The Path to Glory
by TheNavajoLucario
Summary: Life presents many choices to an individual, a path for them to take. They twist and turn, bringing their traveler to many different places and destinations. Ash just needs to find the path to the top, the path to glory. He will push himself past all the trials and tribulations, to become the greatest of them all. Serious Ash. Smarter Ash. M rated for future content.


**Author's Note: Hello, this is my first FanFiction, so there are a few things I would like to cover. First, I am not the strongest writer out there, but I will try my best to bring good content and storytelling to the metaphorical table. Second, there will be no set update schedule for now, I don't know how much time I will be able to get to type. Also, Pikachu will not be in the story, while I love him as a character, I can't write him for shit. Ash will also be much more competent and take his dreams and aspirations seriously. He will have a natural affinity to Pokemon and battling, but will lack in other areas. And no that doesn't mean his schlong is small. The story will have many of the same occurrences as the anime, but some may be skipped or may turn out differently than the anime.**

 **Disclaimer for the whole story, I in no way own Pokemon, except for a few of the video games. This goes for the whole story, as I find it is pointless to do something like this every chapter.**

 **I'm starting to sound like my english professor I'm droning on and on so much. With that out of the way, let the story of a better Ash begin.**

Chapter I: A Beginner's Inspiration

"Come on honey, you have to get up" Delia spoke softly to Ash, trying to gently wake him up. She slowly shook him until he groggily opened up his eyes.

"Huh? Mom?" Ash asked, staring tiredly at his mother.

"Get up Ash, or you're going to be late" His mother still spoke softly as not to startle the tired boy. Ash slowly rose up out of his bed and looked around. He stared at his alarm clock, which read 7:45. Ash stared at it for a few more seconds before it clicked.

"7:45!" He exclaimed, jumping out of bed to get ready for the big day. "I have to be there at 8:30!", Ash ran around his room, still half awake, looking for his belongings that he would take on the trip. As he ran around frantically, his mother watched on, trying to stifle a little laughter.

"Ash, calm down honey" His mother said soothingly. "You still have 45 minutes".

"I know Mom, but I really don't wanna be late" Ash said hurriedly, still running around his room.

"It's only a ten minute drive Ash. Now, calm down, get dressed, and come downstairs, I made some breakfast" Delia left the room, leaving Ash to get ready. Ash stopped at listened at the mention of breakfast, he was really hungry. He went into his closet and threw on his usual attire, a grey hoodie with a black zipper running down the middle as well as a white undershirt underneath his hoodie. He also put on some dark grey sweatpants that were tight around the ankles, so it would get caught on anything. The sweat pants had three zippered pockets, which were really convenient for carrying small items. Ash put on some ankle socks and was out the door. He didn't have to take a shower because he took one the night before in anticipation of today. He ran downstairs to be meet with the heavenly smell of breakfast. He sat down in his usual seat at the four person table. On his plate was a tortilla with black beans and an egg, with some salsa on top. It was his favorite breakfast. He smiled momentarily and then began to chow down on the delicious dish.

"Slow down Ash, you might choke" His mother reprimanded him. She didn't even bother with his manners. They were horrible at home. Only when he was in the presence of company or at a resturant was he able to eat like a normal human.

"Mhmph" Ash responded, his mouth still full of food. He finished breakfast and put his dish in the sink. Ash walked upstairs to brush his teeth. Once he was done, he grabbed his bag and waited at the door. "Mom! I'm ready!" Ash yelled, getting his mother's attention.

"Just a second Ash!" His mother yelled back from upstairs. Once she came down, they were out the door. Ash climbed into the car and waited to get moving

'I can't wait to meet everyone else!', thought Ash. 'I have to keep in mind Mom's goal for me, find a friend that I can get along with' Ash thought about the upcoming event and smiled, this was the highlight of his weekend. Then he would have to back to school. Not that he didn't like school, he just didn't like some of the other people there. They didn't really get along because of Ash's age. He was eight in a class with all ten year olds, so they naturally singled him out and made fun of for being on an advanced track. 'At least there will be more people like me at the Prodigy Assembly' Ash kept thinking about the Prodigy Assembly. It was a really prestigious event. It consisted of children all around the world that had a special skill. Ash was lucky and got invited due to his test scores from the battling and Pokemon section of the KST(Kanto-Standardized-Test). He knew that other had to send submission videos if they weren't chosen for the main categories. Ash kept thinking of all the other people he would meet there. His mother was the one to interrupt his thoughts.

"Ash we're here" His mom said, snapping him out of his train of thought as she got out of the car. Ash got out of the car and looked at the giant building in front of him. The Silph Co. building really was a massive structure. They walked into the building and were meet by a friendly receptionist. Her name tag said Judy.

"Hello there!" Judy said, smiling at the mother and son that stood in front of her.

"Hello there….Judy" Delia said as she read the receptionist's name tag. "Do you know where the Prodigy Assembly is being held?"

"Ah, yes" said Judy with a smile. "Just head through the security machine where that nice gentleman is standing, and head to the elevators on your left. The Assembly will be on floor three, the meeting floor." Judy pointing over to a security guard that was manning the security machine. Ash and Delia walked over to the machine and went through.

Ash watched as his mother and the security guard exchanged small talk. He pulled on his mom's arm and pointed to the elevators.

"Yes Ash, just give me a minute" She finished up her talk with the security and turned to the elevators with Ash in hand. Ash and Delia silently rode up the elevators up the third floor. Once they reached the third floor, they were meet by another smiling receptionist, this time a man.

"Hello, I would like to check in my son for the Prodigy Conference" Delia smiled and talked to the man.

"Sure thing, what was his ID number?" Asked the receptionist. Delia began digging through her purse looking for the sheet of paper she printed out at home.

"It says here his ID number is 19-1-22-9-15-18" Delia said as she read off the paper in her hands.

"Ash Ketchum?" Asked the receptionist. Delia confirmed his name and the receptionist went on. "Ash, please step this way" The receptionist smiled and then turned to Delia. "I'm have to ask you to say goodbye to your son, ma'am. Parents aren't permitted in the Assembly. Professor Oak was very strict about that. He wants the kids to interact with each other without other parties interfering. But don't worry, there are many security guards walking around to make sure the kids are safe. You are free to explore the bottom two floors of the building if you wish". Delia turned to Ash and kneeled down to him.

"I have to go Ash, but remember our deal, at least one friend. Got it?" Ash nodded. "Good. I'll be on the bottom two floors if there is an emergency, ok?" Ash nodded again.

"Just go over there to that counter ok little buddy?" The receptionist pointed to a table with an old man with a lab coat on. He had a stern but caring face. Next to him stood a skinny young man that seemed a bit jittery. He had black wavy hair and nice clothes on. Ash walked to them and stood in the back of line of kids. Ash looked at all the kids, they all looked older than him, but the oldest he was a guy with a red headband on and green hair. He looked about 16. The line moved quickly and soon Ash was at the front of the line.

"Hello there, My name is Professor Samuel Oak, and this is Bill Montgomery" Oak pointed at the man standing next to him, who seemed a bit fidgety. "What is your name?" Oak asked Ash, with a slight smile on his face.

"...Ash Ketchum" Ash said, just loud enough for Professor Oak to hear.

"Ok…Ash...Ash...Ash" Oak said while looking through a stack of papers on the desk. "Ah, yes. Here we go" Oak pulled out a paper with Ash name and photo on it, along with a few colors. "Well Ash, it seems you were one the few that qualified to attend three advanced sessions." Oak put a wristband on Ash that had blue, green, and red stripes on them. Oak proceeded to explain that the colors on the band meant he could attend the advanced Battling session, the advanced Analytical Arts session, and the advanced Observation session. Once Oak was done, he sent ash on his way.

Ash never realized how big the main lobby of the meeting floor was, it had a very high ceiling, and was very spread out and spacious. It had many different colored banners that read "Prodigy Assembly" on them. Ash walked around aimlessly for a bit, before taking a seat in the far back of the large group of chairs that pointed towards an elevated stage. Ash sat there and looked all around him, taking it in.

He was soon interrupted when a voice came from the stage. He looked up to see Professor Oak there. He already knew who he was, so Ash barely listened when Oak introduced himself and asked everyone to sit down. Oak explained where everything was and where all the different sessions would be held. Then something he said caught his ear.

"Now I would like to introduce the special guests that will be teaching some of the sessions. First, I would like to introduce Bill Montgomery, who will helping me with some of the research sessions. Next, I would like to introduce Riley, who will be holding basic history classes." Oak proceeded to introduce Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City. Then, Lily Shirona (Cynthia's Grandma). After that Lucian, the Champion of Sinnoh was introduced, then Mr. Montgomery. "And finally, we have the joint Champion of Kanto and Johto, Lance Blackthorn!" The applause was loud for all the others, but when Lance came out, the crowd went wild.

Oak then explained that the times for everyone's advanced classes were on their wristbands, and if anyone wanted to sign up for basic classes, the sign up would be at the desk where everyone checked in with him.

Ash was currently sitting the closest to that desk and ran over there before the line became too long. He signed up for basic History and Doctor sessions.

Once he was done Ash sat down at looked at his band. His first advanced session was at 9:30, it was the Battle session. Ash had some time to kill so he got up and walked around the lobby.

"You must observe your opponent when battling and adjust your tactics to what you observe. You will never use your pre set tactics throughout the whole battle", Lance went on about battling, while Ash and many others were furiously taking notes. He was currently in his advanced battling class.

"Hey, do you have an extra pen, mine just ran out of ink", Ash turned to the voice next to him, looking up at a blonde girl with a long black coat on.

"Yea, sure", Ash said with a small smile. He pulled a black pen out of his bag and handed it to the girl.

"Thanks", she said, turning back to her paper.

Lance talked and talked about battling and incorporating all the other classes into battling. He talked about observing your and your opponent's Pokemon. He talked about being creative during battles. He talked about all the status effects. He managed to touch everything battling was about in a one and a half hour session.

"That is the end of the presentation everyone, I hope you learned something", Lance smiled briefly at his audience and walked off the small raised platform in the lecture hall.

Ash looked over his four pages of organized notes and smiled. He would have to look over these when he got home. He felt a small tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"Hey, here's your your pen, ….what was your name again?" The blonde girl inquired as she handed Ash his pen.

"My name is Ash, what's your name?" Ash asked, managing to make small talk.

"My name is Cynthia" Cynthia smiled at him. "So where are you from, Ash?" she asked.

"...Saffron", said Ash, a bit softly. Ash and Cynthia talked a bit more and found out they had a few other classes together. They walked out talking, mostly about what Lance had said.

Ash smiled inside his head. Maybe meeting his mother's goal for him wouldn't be as hard as he thought.

 **Author's Note: I know Ash isn't from Saffron, but hey, this is FanFiction, why not spice it up a bit? Lot's of story details in this chapter. The Prodigy Assembly will finish next chapter, along with Ash beginning his journey, I hope.**

 **Well, if you got this far, you get no medal, this was a short chapter. I will try to get longer chapters out, but i'm not a fast typer by any stretch of the imagination. This was just a basis for the story. I think that's everything covered. If there is any constructive criticism, I would like to hear it. If there are any mistakes you see, let me know please. Keep in mind this is my first story.**


End file.
